* * * * * * * * * * * * * The Electronic AIR * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
* The Electronic Newsletter *
* of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) *
* Serving Institutional Research Professionals *
* and those Engaged in Mgt. Research, Policy Analysis & Planning *
* *
* January 30, 1996. . . . . . . . . . .Volume 16, Number 2 *
* Part A *
* Editor - Larry Nelson, Pacific Lutheran University *
* *
* Subscription Mgt. - Rob Thomas, AIR Office *
* Jobs Editing - Jacque Frost, Purdue University *
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* Current Subscribers = 1521 *
* Next Issue Target Publication Date: February 12, 1996 *
* Next Issue Copy Deadline: February 8, 1996 *
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* EDITOR'S NOTE: AIR-L Isn't What Some People Think It Is! *
* THE CHANGING SCENE *
* AIR NEWS - Pre-Forum Workshop on Becoming Change Agents and *
* Consultants of Choice Scheduled *
* AIR NEWS - Albuquerque Forum Attendees Check out New Mexico Web Site*
* AIR NEWS - AIR Currents Editorial Applicants Still Sought *
* NEWS From AIR's Higher Education Data Policy Committee (HEDPC) *
* NEWS - Bob Daly Reports Success with Standard Survey Response *
* NEWS - AERA Minority Scholarships *
* NEWS FROM THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY - Higher Education Assessment *
* Program Home Pages *
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* EDITOR'S NOTE: AIR-L Isn't What Some People Think It Is! *
* Larry Nelson, Pacific Lutheran University *
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Quite frequently, I receive unsolicited submissions for The
Electronic AIR that are, for a variety of reasons, inappropriate. Some
of them are due to the sender misinterpreting the purpose and focus of
the AIR-L list by misinterpreting its name. The following is such a
submission. I thought you'd enjoy the humor in this person's innocent
mistake.
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"I am a civil engineer working for a non-profit in New York
and have come across an intermittent recurring problem that
perhaps you can help with or steer me in the right direction. The
problem is an odor that occurs in the apartments of a 24 unit
studio apartment building in upstate New York in the Catskills.
The problem usually is noticed in the bathrooms but it is not a
sewer gas smell. It is also smelled outside at times. The odor
is faintly like the smell of "death" i.e., decaying flesh but
with a strange sweetness to it. The first time I smelled it I
commented that it smelled as if something had died but
pleasantly.
We have crawled into the space beneath the building during an
occurrence but cannot smell it there. Any ideas will be greatly
appreciated. You can reply to the above address (deleted to
protect the sender). Thank you."
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* THE CHANGING SCENE *
* "A way to keep up with news about our colleagues." *
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This portion of the newsletter is devoted to keeping you informed
about changes such as readers who relocate to new positions and/or
institutions, professional recognition awards and honors, retirements,
deaths, newly hired colleagues, promotions, etc. If you become aware of
a change on your campus or elsewhere which should be mentioned in "The
Changing Scene," please send me a note at with
the key facts. Keep it brief, but include the information you think
others would like to know.
RACHEL STEVENS DEEMS has resigned as Assistant Vice President for
Planning at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia to become CEO of a
Macon-based corporation, Disciples Inc. Rachel was founding Treasurer
of GAIRPAQ, the Georgia Association for Institutional Research,
Planning, Assessment, and Quality. Good luck, Rachel!
BRUCE MALLETTE returned to North
Carolina State last July from a year of study as an ACE Fellow at The
American University. On September 1, he left his position as Associate
Director of University Planning and Analysis to become Assistant Provost
for Administration. Bruce also reports that he was married to Julie
Rice in July. Julie serves as Director of Financial Aid at NC State.
Congratulations to both Bruce and Julie!
Wayne Peterson reports that LEE MORTIMER has been promoted to Assistant Director of the Office of
Institutional Research at Wright State University (Ohio) Lee started in
the office in 1989 as an undergraduate student assistant and has been
employed ever since as Data Analyst and most recently as Information and
Research Analyst. Lee completed his masters from WSU last December.
Congratulations, Lee!
JACKI STIRN has gotten settled into her new
position as Director of Development Research and Records at Regis
University in Denver. She may now be reached at (303) 458-4167. Good
luck, Jacki!
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* AIR NEWS - Pre-Forum Workshop on Becoming Change Agents and *
* Consultants of Choice Scheduled *
* Michael Mattier, Cornell University *
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Becoming Change Agents and Consultants of Choice
Pre-Forum Professional Development Workshop
Thirty-sixth Annual AIR Forum, Albuquerque, NM
Saturday May 4, Noon to 5 pm & Sunday May 5, 8 am to 4 pm
Presenters:
Michael Matier -- Peter Hurst -- Clint Sidle
Institutional Planning and Research
Cornell University
Context and Purpose:
In a chapter we have written for NDIR #85 -- Preparing for the
Information Needs of the Twenty-First Century -- we argue that
institutional researchers should develop skills in group process
dynamics and facilitation (Matier, Sidle, and Hurst, 1995). The
movement away from hierarchical organizational structures toward more
flat, team-based work groups has become increasingly common outside of
higher education. The TQM wave that has made its way into higher
education institutions over the last ten years has fostered a desire for
more open, participatory decision making cultures. Few individuals in
our institutions have the requisite team-building and facilitation
skills to make this transition viable.
In support of this changing decision making culture, we argue that
institutional researchers need to fulfill four roles to most effectively
serve their institutions:
A. Research support: data collection, analysis, and dissemination:
B. Information architects;
C. Change agents -- planning and process architects; and
D. Internal consultants of choice
The first role has been the traditional bailiwick of institutional
research. The second -- in the form of data administration efforts --
is becoming increasingly a part of the IR function. The third and
fourth roles, however, are not as readily practiced and call for
institutional researchers both to learn a new set of skills and to tap
into a larger and more diverse reservoir of resources. This workshop is
specifically designed to begin preparing institutional research
professionals to become effective "change agents" and "consultants of
choice."
Goals/Objectives:
1. To develop a better understanding of group process dynamics.
2. Through experience-based learning, to become familiar with a
basic set of diagnostic and design tools that facilitate
team building, leadership development, and broadly participatory
planning processes.
3. To provoke insight into individual participants' strengths and
weaknesses in team settings and suggest resources for further
training.
Additional Background:
The impetus for the NDIR chapter -- and subsequently, this workshop
-- came from our efforts at re-engineering the institutional research
function at Cornell over the past seven years. Without an explicit
executive mandate to do so, we have worked to re-position the office by
keeping connected to the pulse of prospective change in the institution
and fueling the deliberations surrounding policy development. Our
experience has been that a deep engagement in the university's evolving
culture of decision making has yielded possibilities for us to play more
critical and interesting roles. We quickly discovered that we had much
to learn about facilitating change, designing innovation into
traditional decision making processes, and gaining optimal performance
from initially struggling groups. We invested heavily in training
ourselves so that we could effectively fulfill the roles of change
agents and consultants of choice.
The workshop will involve a modest amount of theory-based
instruction combined with a heavy dose of experienced based learning
opportunities. A critical component of this workshop is to analyze
leadership and team effectiveness skills -- critically important facets
of being "change agents" and "consultants of choice" -- especially as
these skills relate to the workplace. The workshop will engage teams of
eight to ten participants in unique exercises designed to bring out
issues related to leadership, communication, trust, planning, and
calculated risk-taking. These minimally physical, somewhat
unconventional, fun activities are also designed to relax and integrate
the teams. A fringe benefit will be to enjoy this program with your
professional colleagues and to develop and enhance networking
opportunities.
Concrete, observable examples of how groups and leaders work -- or
don't work -- will be discussed by individual teams. Participants
should expect a supportive environment to assess team performance, and
to give and receive constructive, candid feedback. Team perceptions of
your leadership and group management style will be included in a final
session.
Workshop Logistics:
This workshop will have its first session on Saturday from noon to 5
pm. It will continue on Sunday from 8 am to 4 pm. Casual and
comfortable clothes should be worn -- pretend you're going to a picnic.
Enrollment will be limited to no more than 25 people. Cost for the
workshop is $150.
Instructors:
Michael Matier, Peter Hurst, and Clint Sidle are colleagues in
Institutional Planning and Research at Cornell University and were key
members of the design and support team that managed Cornell's
university-wide strategic planning process. Collectively and
individually, they have served as internal and external consultants for
strategic planning, team building, and leadership development.
References:
Matier, M. W., Sidle, C. C., and Hurst, P. J. (1995). Institutional
Researchers' Roles in the 21st Century. In Sanford, T. R. (ed.)
Preparing for the Information Needs of the Twenty-First Century. New
Directions for Institutional Research. Number 85, Spring 1995. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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* AIR NEWS - Albuquerque Forum Attendees Check out New Mexico Web Site*
* Reprinted From: RMAIR List *
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I thought some of you might be interested in checking out the WEB
site below. It provides some travel information about New Mexico.
URL: http://www.viva.com/nm/
Fred Lillibridge
E-Mail:
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* AIR NEWS - AIR Currents Editorial Applicants Still Sought *
* Tim Sanford, University of North Carolina *
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AIR vice-president, Tim Sanford, has informed us that an editor for
AIR's newly-redesigned print newsletter, AIR Currents, is still being
sought. AIR members who desire more information about this opportunity
or who have an interest in the position should contact Tim at
.
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* NEWS From AIR's Higher Education Data Policy Committee (HEDPC) *
* Lynn McCloskey, Washington University *
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The 1996 U.S. News undergraduate survey will arrive on campuses
between January 15 and February 15. Before sending the questionnaires,
which will be available by fax and/or e-mail, U.S. News will call the
contact person listed on last year's survey to make sure that he or she
is the correct person to receive this year's survey. Public Relations
offices will receive a letter a week or so later advising that the
survey has been sent to campus contacts, but they will not receive
copies of the surveys. This should avoid the confusion that duplicate
surveys sometimes caused in the past.
If your school has not heard from U.S. News or has not received the
surveys by February 15, please e-mail Bob Morse and J.J. Thompson at
. Please include the name of the appropriate
contact at your school.
There are a few changes in the 1996 survey. Look for changes or new
questions in the following areas: class size, teaching by graduate
teaching assistants and ethnic breakdown of faculty. Also, note the
clarification of definitions for need-based and merit aid in the
financial aid survey.
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* NEWS - Bob Daly Reports Success with Standard Survey Response *
* Reprinted From: Standard Survey Response List *
* *
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Editor's Note: Bob Daly at UC-Irvine recently responded to an item I
posted on the stand-l discussion list. His response sheds light on how
news magazines and other survey publishers are dealing with the Standard
Survey Response.
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As you know, I have been using my "single survey instrument" (we
call it the Standard Survey Response) for just about two years now. And
we have not received a complaint from any publisher, including the news
magazines. Just occasional phone calls for a couple more pieces of data.
Our SSR contains, for the most part, the information the publishers are
requesting.
I feel very strongly that this is the correct approach, and efforts
to develop a standard set of data and standard definitions is, at best
many years away, and more than likely will not succeed. One reason for
the later is that the publishers will continually change the type and
depth of the data that they request. US News has already done this for
this year! Groups of people with members spread across the country will
not be able to adopt to these changes quickly enough.
Relative to some current activities, we are again modifying our SSR
to include more information about graduate students. This will greatly
help our grad division as they will be able to use the UCI SSR. And, a
WWW version is under development (about one-half finished), and it will
replace our paper version. We plan to instruct the publishers simply to
access our web site (also under development) to obtain the information
they need.
Robert Daly, Director
Analytical Studies and Information Management
University of California, Irvine
E-Mail:
Phone: (714) 824-7151
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* NEWS - AERA Minority Scholarships *
* Reprinted From: AERA List *
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Recognizing the limited number of educational researchers from
under-represented groups, AERA has initiated a Fellowship Program to
assist in increasing that pool. The program will support two minority
fellows this year.
Eligibility:
Applicants must be 1) a members of one of the groups traditionally
underrepresented in higher education in the United States: for example,
African American, Native American, Alaskan native (Eskimo or Aleut),
Native Pacific Islander, Filipino American, Mexican American, Puerto
Rican; 2) an enrolled doctoral student in an accredited university of
the United States, have successfully completed most course requirements,
and have an accepted PhD/EdD dissertation proposal; 3) committed to
working full-time on the dissertation; and 4) interested in a career in
higher education/educational research.
Awards:
The program will support two minority fellows each year. The awards
will be for $10,000 per year and are designed to assist in the final two
years of the doctoral program. Support funds are not intended to be
used for payment of tuition.
Deadline:
Application materials must be received by February 26, 1996. Awards
will be announced in late May, 1996.
Contact:
AERA, Minority Fellowships, 1230 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC
20036-3078, 202-223-9485.
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* NEWS FROM THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY - Higher Education Assessment *
* Program Home Pages *
* Ephraim Schechter, U. of CO-Boulder *
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In mid-December, I asked for URLs of higher-ed outcomes assessment
pages on the World Wide Web. In the message, I gave the addresses for
the three I knew about at the time--ours and the ones at Eastern New
Mexico University and Willamette University. I received a few
responses, and also found a few more when searching the Web. Here's what
I have on them. Thanks to Alec, Tod, and Cel for your responses. Any
others out there? Keep 'em coming.
http://www.enmu.edu/~testaa
Assessment Resource Office--Eastern New Mexico University
Alec Testaa's page, includes ENMU academic-unit assessment plans
links to other assessment & higher-ed resources.
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http://www.kenyon.edu/acad/
Kenyon College--Academics
Institutional outcomes assessment page under construction. Checked
1-10-96.
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http://www.cgrg.ohio-state.edu/OPVA/assessment.html
Ohio State Univ. College of the Arts
Assessment and evaluation program page under construction 12-14-95.
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http://www.montana.edu/~aircj/assess/
Montana State Univ.-Bozeman
Student outcomes assessment page. Cel Johnson's page, has '95
senior & alum survey results, college contacts, policy. Departmental
assessment plans will be added later. Checked 1-10-96.
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http:/spot.colorado.edu/~schechte/outcomes.htm
University of Colorado at Boulder
Undergraduate outcomes assessment, history and description of
process, overview of methods used, results obtained, uses of results.
Individual academic unit summaries to be added.
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http://www.willamette.edu/ir/assess/assess.html
Willamette University Assessment Program
Tod Massa's page (under construction) has assessment guidelines,
library--coming soon assessment task force list. Checked 1-10-96.
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I've also found a few pages with brief institutional policy
statements but no details on assessment processes:
http://www.cameron.edu/student_affairs/catalog/index.html
Cameron University
Brief policy statement. No details.
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http://www.wnmu.edu/studaffa.htm
Western New Mexico University
Institutional outcomes assessment policy statement.
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This newsletter is continued in Part B, sent separately.
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* If you wish to subscribe, change your e-mail address, or request a *
* subscription for someone else, send it to Rob Thomas, AIR Exec- *
* utive Office, (Florida State University). *
* If you have AIR news, send it to Larry Nelson, Editor, at: *
* (Pacific Lutheran University). *
* (Please limit submissions to 72 characters or fewer per line and *
* use mixed case, NOT ALL CAPS--NO NEED TO SHOUT.) *
* If you have news for the SCUP electronic newsletter, send it to *
* Terry Calhoun, SCUP Publ. Dir.,. *
* For further information regarding individual or organizational *
* membership in the Association for Institutional Research, contact *
* Terrence Russell, Executive Director, AIR, 114 Stone Bldg., *
* Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-3038; *
* Telephone: (904) 644-4470 or on Internet: . *
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